Former Kia CEO Chung in 2006 with Georgia Gov. Perdue Defective wiring in Kia Motors’ Soul and Sorento vehicles has led to the resignation of the Korean automaker’s CEO.  -Read more-

Daniel AkersonGeneral Motors announced Aug. 12 that Ed Whitacre Jr. will step down as chief executive officer on Sept. 1, and as chairman of the board by the end of the year. He’ll be replaced by Dan Akerson, 61, who has served on the GM board of directors since July 2009. Akerson will become CEO on Sept. 1 and chairman by the end of the year.   -Read more-

Ex-GM CEO Henderson (left) and current CEO WhitacreFritz Henderson, the ousted GM CEO who steered the failing automaker out of bankruptcy until he couldn’t close deals to sell Saturn and Saab, among other things, has been hired as a 20-hour per month consultant to new CEO Ed Whitacre for a

With an overwhelming yes to the purchase of Saab from GM, shareholders at Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker have saved the Swedish brand from oblivion.
The approved purchase price was $74 million.
Spyker’s CEO, Victor Muller, also said the combined company would apply for stock listings on the London and Swedish exchanges.

Chevrolet announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show that its long-awaited Volt will be available late next year in California, with other markets to be named later.

The automaker also announced its partnership with California utilities in an effort to further the development of EVs by installing more than 500 charging stations for residential, business and public use.

Good news for GM, just a day following the resignation of its CEO, Fritz Henderson.

 

Many of you are probably already installing paint protection film.

PPF is used most frequently to protect vulnerable painted areas on autos, trucks and SUVs from rocks, bugs and road debris that causes chipping. Bumpers and leading edges of hoods and fenders, mirror backs, air dams, body kits, door handle grab areas, key holes, door sills and edges, and wings are all common application opportunities for the restyler.

You can run but you can’t hide from your showroom. Customers form opinions just by walking to your counter. But try to think of making the showroom your opportunity to showcase what you do.

We asked several shops about their showroom design theories. Dave Dennis of Customizing Connections in Gaithersburg, Md., says, “With the intentions of selling my business in the future, with the support and physical help of my fiancée, Vickie Daza, and close friends, we started with painting from ceiling to floor.”

 

This is no Oprah, Dr. Phil or Barbara Walters take on relationships because this is business. But business is personal, too, in understanding the rules of business engagement, and what each party needs to understand about the other.

Restyling asked a select group of suppliers and restylers just three questions about their mutual give-and-take relationship, because sometimes, like in a longtime marriage, neither always clearly hears what the other is saying.

Well, here is what some of you are saying to each other.

First, what do restylers have to say?

RESTYLERS
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What should retailers expect from their suppliers/distributors?

Bob Lutz is doing it again.

The 77-year-old vice chairman of marketing at the new GM is moving as fast as President Barack Obama — whose first eight months have been marked by rapid-fire national legislation — to remake, reposition, rebuild, re-promote, refine and help rewrite GM’s future history.

And with GM’s too-iffy record on vehicles that people really want, a real marketing maven is needed.

But does GM really have one? The one?

Lutz came out of a planned retirement at the behest of CEO Fritz Henderson to help bring GM into the 21st century. Lutz immediately took over responsibility for advertising from Mark LaNeve, who had been GM's marketing chief since 2005. LaNeve retains responsibility for GM's U.S. sales.